| Saints Crispin and Crispinian | |
|---|---|
The Martyrdom of SS. Crispin and Crispinian by Aert van den Bossche |
|
| Martyrs | |
| Born | 3rd century AD |
| Died | 286 Rome |
| Honored in | Roman Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Churches The Church of England |
| Canonized | Pre-Congregation |
| Major shrine | Soissons |
| Feast | October 25 |
| Attributes | depicted holding shoes |
| Patronage | cobblers; glove makers; lace makers; lace workers; leather workers; saddle makers; saddlers; shoemakers; tanners; weavers; Brgy. San Crispin, San Pablo City, Philippines |
Saints Crispin and Crispinian are the French Christian patron saints of cobblers, tanners, and leather workers. Born to a noble Roman family in the 3rd century AD, Saints Crispin and Crispinian, twin brothers, fled persecution for their faith, ending up in Soissons, where they preached Christianity to the Gauls and made shoes by night.
Their success attracted the ire of Rictus Varus, the governor of Belgic Gaul, who had them tortured and thrown into the river with millstones round their necks. Though they survived, they were beheaded by the emperor c. 286.
An alternative account gives them as sons of a noble Romano-Briton family whose father had been killed having incurred the displeasure of the Roman emperor living at Canterbury. As they were approaching maturity their mother sent them to London to seek apprenticeship and to avoid coming to the attention of their father's killer. Travelling there, the brothers came across a shoe-maker's workshop in Faversham and decided to travel no further but to remain in Faversham where there is a plaque commemorating their association with the town. They are also commemmorated in the name of the ancient pub "Crispin and Crispianus" in Strood. It might be thought that a flaw in this account is its failure to explain how the brothers came to be martyred.
Saint Crispin is quite often associated with the Battle of Azincourt (english spelling Agincourt) as the battle was fought on Saint Crispin's day. Azincourt was seen as a justification to the atrocities underwent by the Battle of Soissons.